Black and White

by Jackie Kessler

  “At least let me get my boots on,” Iri yelled.

  “And let you lock yourself in? No way, Princess.”

  “Princess?”

  Looking over her shoulder, Jet flashed Iri a toothy smile. “You’re so concerned about your boots, I thought maybe it was an accessory issue. You know, your bare feet clashing with your hairband, or something.”

  “You’ve lost it,” Iri muttered, giving up. “Utterly lost it. I have a psycho for a roommate.” She raised her voice and called out to anyone listening: “A psycho for a roommate!”

  Of course, that was when one of the proctors, Stretch, crossed their path. She elongated her arm to halt them in their tracks. “And what in the hell are you shouting about, Iridium?”

  “Ma’am, my roommate just kidnapped me, which, I believe, is a Code Seven offense.” She gestured down to her bare feet. “Code Nine if I get a splinter.”

  Stretch blinked at Iri, then at Iri’s feet. And then she glared at Jet, who smiled meekly and said, “Just excited to see about the pairing results, ma’am.”

  Stretch sighed and shook her head. “Fine. But get there quieter. Some people actually are studying.”

  “I was studying,” Iri muttered as Jet grabbed her arm again and led the way. “I was studying just fine until my psycho roommate kidnapped me. In broad daylight. In the freaking Academy. There’s no justice in the world. None.”

  “Come on, I bet the crowd’s not so big yet.”

  “You know, this is a total role reversal. You’re the one who’s always cooped up, trying to get ahead of the curriculum.”

  “And you’re the one always telling me to lighten up,” Jet said, steering Iri toward the stairs. “I’m lightening.”

  “You can’t lighten up, you psycho Shadow! You’re the dour one. I’m the obnoxious one.”

  “You’re not allowed to have a monopoly on obnoxious-ness.”

  “This is because of that boy,” Iri said, making sure to sound like every adult who ever disapproved of teenage romance.

  “That boy,” Jet said, doing her best to ignore the warmth in her cheeks, “has nothing to do with wanting to see who we’re getting paired with.”

  “You know that you won’t be partnered with Samson, right? I mean, not that you and he haven’t been doing your own style of partnering when no one’s looking …”

  “Shhhh!” Jet darted her glance around, but there was no one else in the stairwell. For the moment. “Come on, keep it down!”

  “What? You started.”

  “Did not. Besides, Sam and I don’t do anything of the sort,” Jet said primly, holding the stairway door open for Iri. “We’re just friends. After you, Princess.”

  Iri glared at her, then stood rooted to the spot until Jet sighed and marched through the door first. Iri followed. The two girls walked together down the main hall of the first floor, heading toward the assembly hall.

  “Friends, she says. Hah.” Iri rolled her eyes. “If you ever kiss me the way you kiss him, I’m going to shove a strobe down your throat and boil your tongue.”

  Jet giggled. “Admit it, you like him.”

  “Sure, I like him. But you’re stupidly in love with him. It’s making you positively chipper. Hurts the whole sullen angsty almost-heroine thing you have going for you.”

  “You’ve got Frostbite. I’ve got Samson.”

  Iri burst out laughing. “Oh Jehovah, trust me, Frostbite and I are absolutely not friends the way you and Samson have redefined the word.”

  Jet arched an eyebrow. “You really mean to tell me after all this time, you guys never …?”

  “Nope.”

  “Not once?”

  “Nope.”

  “Huh.” Jet paused, thinking about Samson’s lopsided grin, his rumbling laugh. His hands, so huge yet so gentle. “Sam and I haven’t. You know. Done it.”

  “Christo,” Iri said, “if this is how you act from just kissing the big dope, I’m so freaking doomed when you actually let him in your pants. You’ll be all giddy and happy and shit. I won’t be able to take it.”

  “I am happy,” Jet said, feeling a goofy smile on her face. “I really like him, Callie.”

  Iri’s mouth twitched, then she let out a dramatic sigh. “I’ll have to tell Derek that our Joannie’s in lurve. He’ll cry, you know. Kids grow up so fast these days.”

  Jet’s blush deepened. “I think I am. In love.”

  Iri draped an arm around her shoulder. “No shit, my friend. No shit. But you tell the big lug that if he breaks your heart, I’ll break his kneecaps.”

  “You’re so good to me.”

  “What are friends for?”

  “Friends in the you-and-me way? Or in the me-and-Samson way?”

  “Friends in the you-and-Samson way are for me to make fun of,” Iri said. “Oh goodie. We’re here. Now we can see who we’re stuck with for the rest of our Academic lives.”

  The lobby outside of the assembly hall was swarming with Third Year students eager to see who they would be paired with for the duration of their studies, all buzzing over the posted results. Numerous instructors and a handful of proctors were all trying to keep some semblance of decorum. Jet wished them luck: a superpowered mob wasn’t a pretty sight.

  Instead of shoving their way through, Jet and Iri hung by the back. As much as Jet was dying to know whom she’d be working with, training with, she sensed that Iri needed to talk.

  Getting an Everyman to preach about the wonders of the extrahumans would have been easier.

  “What’s eating you?” Jet asked softly. “All kidding aside, Iri, this isn’t like you. What’s wrong? Don’t you want to know?”

  Iri pressed her lips together into a thin white line. For a moment, Jet thought she wasn’t going to tell her, but then Iri spoke, her voice clipped and quiet, sounding faintly British. “I’m not eager to make nice with some wet-eared hero wannabe. There are exactly two people I’m comfortable with, and one of them’s impossible for me to be paired with because the Academy is more mixed-gender phobic than most convents.” She slid a glance at Jet. “And the other one’s acting like she’s insane.”

  Jet smiled. “In love.”

  “Same thing.”

  “Whoever you get paired with, you’re going to be great.” Jet bit her lip, then said, “How can you be anything but great? I wouldn’t have made it to Third Year without you.”

  Iri waved her off. “You’d have found yourself another tutor.”

  “No, dummy. Not that.” She lightly punched Iri’s arm. “Come on, you’re the smart one. You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah,” Iri said, rubbing her arm. “And fucking ow! What’s with you?”

  “I’m trying to make a point. You’ve made Academy bearable. Hell, Iri, you’ve made it almost fun. And that doesn’t stop once we get paired with other people.”

  “But I don’t want to be paired with anyone else.” Iri scrubbed a hand through her black hair. “Christo, could you imagine me covering Steele’s back?”

  “Steele’s okay.”

  “Yeah, but she’s more freaking by-the-book than you are!”

  Jet smiled sweetly. “See? You won’t miss me at all …”

  “I’m going to strobe your sheets when you’re sleeping.”

  “And I’ll put creepers on your pillow when you’re not looking.”

  The two girls shared a laugh, then grew quiet. Soon Iri said, “Seriously, Joannie. I like being myself around you and Derek the Dork.”

  “You can still be yourself, even around a new partner.”

  “Yeah, that’ll happen.”

  “Why wouldn’t it?”

  “I don’t want to have to break in another hero-in-training.”

  “You know,” Jet said dryly, “you’re not so impossible to get along with. For a criminal.”

  Iri smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “So says the kook.”

  “Come on,” Jet said, pushing Iri forward. “Let’s see who we got. I’m sure it won’t
be that bad.”

  “It’ll be worse. Christo, they probably put me with LightBright …”

  “And I’ll probably get Lady Luck. Let’s go.”

  They weaved their way through the crowd, Iridium snarling at people who tried to block their path and Jet slinking between people like a snake. Or a shadow. Finally, they got to the results board.

  And stared at their names, linked.

  “Holy Jehovah in a minihover,” Iri breathed. “I don’t believe it!”

  “See?” Jet’s grin stretched so wide that her cheeks threatened to fall off of her face. “See? Sometimes things work out better than we hope!”

  “Yeah, yeah,” someone behind them called, “congratulations! Now get out of the way already!”

  The two allowed themselves to be pushed out of the crush of students. When they were on the periphery of the crowd, they both whooped for joy, and to hell with the proctors.

  “Light and Shadow, working together,” Iri crowed, pumping her fist. “I want to know who you slept with to get us paired.”

  “Me?” Jet giggled. “I thought maybe you threatened someone.”

  “This is going to be great!” Iri’s eyes lit with passion, and Jet practically saw her roommate’s—no, her partner’s—mind working on how the two of them would take the Academy by storm. “Light refraction and casting shadows … Damn, Jet, we could really make this thing work for us!”

  “Striking terror into the hearts of villains?”

  “You know it! Black and white, Joannie. You and me.”

  “And Samson?”

  Iri groaned. “I’d do almost anything for you, Jet. But I am absolutely, positively not agreeing to a threesome. But maybe I’ll let him sidekick.”

  “‘Let,’ huh?”

  Grinning hugely, they both nodded to Night, the proctor at the assembly hall’s entrance, who nodded in return. In his cold voice, he said, “Happy with the results, I take it?”

  “Couldn’t be happier, sir,” Iri said brightly. “It’s almost enough to make me believe in guardian angels.”

  Night smiled. Sort of. “And you, Jet?”

  “I’m really happy, sir.” And she meant every word.

  “Good.” This time, Night really smiled—wide enough for Jet to see his shockingly white teeth. “Enjoy the moment, girls. Because now the hard part is going to begin.”

  CHAPTER 31

  IRIDIUM

  You have to ask yourself what will happen when one of these heroes snaps—and we’re not talking about spousal abuse, drunk driving, or a public display of aggression. I’m talking nuclear meltdowns, whole cities wiped off the map because an extrahuman decided he wasn’t going to take it anymore.

  From the New Chicago Century, an editorial entitled “Mad as Hell”

  Single file. Paired students together. No talking.” The Superintendent looked at Frostbite and Chen Leung, his paired hero, code name: Red Lotus. Their heads, shocking blue and red respectively, were bowed together.

  “I said no talking!”

  Frostbite jerked upright. “Sorry, sir.”

  “While you are in the city, you are representative of the Academy and of Corp,” the Superintendent said sternly. “So behave yourselves, or the consequences will be swift and dire.”

  “‘Swift and dire,’” Iridium mocked. She saw Jet bite the insides of her cheek to keep from smiling. “He’s going to make us listen to one of his speeches if we misbehave.”

  Night walked by and tapped her on the back of the head. “Be quiet, Iridium.”

  “Sorry, sir.”

  Night looked down at Jet. “Are you looking forward to this, little Shadow?”

  She nodded silently, favoring Night with a bright, soft smile. Iridium almost rolled her eyes. If her roommate hadn’t been so head over heels about Samson, Iridium would have thought Jet had a serious crush on Night. Yuck.

  From the front of the line of students, Celestina clapped her hands. “This way to the transport, everyone.”

  They all filed in, sat down, and belted up, like the good little heroes-in-training that they were. And then they were off.

  The hover took them through the towers of the new downtown, over the reclaimed grids, until they parked on a glassed-in stationary platform in Little Shinjuku. Even in the middle of the day, neon characters and signs glowed; somewhere far away, fireworks popped.

  “Now, this area is very safe,” said Celestina. “But—”

  Iridium raised her hand.

  Celestina gave a small sigh. “Yes, Callie?”

  “If it’s so safe, how come there’s bulletproof glass around the lander?”

  Night clapped his hands together. “Here’s all you need to know. This is your first training patrol. You’ve each been assigned a sector of the neighborhood on your wristlets. You’ll patrol for one hour, then report back immediately. Any of that too complicated for you hormone cases?”

  “No, sir!” Jet exclaimed.

  A few of the other students snickered. Iridium shot them black looks. No one razzed on Jet for being all perfect except for Iridium.

  As Celestina punched a code into the door of the lander, Jet nudged Iridium on the shoulder. “I’ve got our grid. Let’s get to the door. I bet we’ll be the first to complete the exercise!”

  “Hey, hold up.” Iridium pulled Jet back by the sleeve of her uniform. Outside, the stairs unfolded, forming a path from the lander to the street. “This is a bad idea.”

  “Little Shinjuku is safe,” said Jet. “Night said so.”

  “I’m telling you, this is a bad idea.” As they filed out of the lander and down the stairs, Iridium glanced around to take in the surroundings. And she frowned deeply.

  “It’s training, Iri.” Jet’s voice was full of happy thoughts. “It’s preparing us for when we’ll be heroes.”

  “Yeah.” Iridium pointed to a hunched, shaking bum sitting on the curb. “And that’s a junkfreak.” She rotated to the cluster of buzzing hoverbikes and their satin-jacketed riders. “And that’s a speed gang. All preparing for when they’ll rob, rape, or kill us.” She looked back at Jet. “The city is a dangerous place. My dad at least taught me that.”

  She felt more than heard Night at her back, his shadow blocking out the faint light from the pollution layer.

  “Problem, Iridium? I know we aren’t discussing rabids during a class exercise.”

  “No, sir,” Jet said, shoving Iridium forward. “No problem at all. We were just strategizing the best way to proceed.”

  “Get moving,” said Night. “You don’t want to fall behind.”

  Jet blanched, then hissed at Iridium, “I can’t believe you’re messing this up!” Furious, she stalked away.

  “Christo, Jet,” Iridium called, hurrying after her. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine,” Jet muttered as she paced rapidly along the alley, wristlet flashing data. “It’s just that …” She took a deep breath. “If Samson and the others have a more complete report because they started on time, that will be reflected in our scores.”

  “No one is going to have a more complete report,” said Iridium. “We’re the best, remember?”

  Jet sighed, relaxing. “Yes. I know. I’m sorry.”

  “Forget it,” said Iridium, smiling so Jet would know she’d forget it as well.

  “It’s a straightforward infogather patrol,” Jet said, reading the data. “We must collect information on illicit activity, which will be quantified by Ops, and then—”

  “Perfect,” Iridium said, starting in a random direction. “Let’s do a look-see and get back to the hover.”

  “We have one hour, remember?”

  “Let’s finish, before the hour’s up. Dad told me stories about this neighborhood that’d make your toes curl up.”

  A man’s voice said: “Stories about the boogeyman?”

  Iridium whipped her head around and saw two men in ragged old-style clothes with yellow sunburst patches on the breast pockets. She hadn’t heard them
approaching. “Shit,” she said clearly.

  Jet frowned at them. “I’m sorry, citizens. This is a training area. You must not have been notified.”

  “Who do you think you’re talking to, brat?” demanded the younger of the two. He had a blunt, dangerous face and glittering dark eyes.

  “Jet,” Iridium said as the men walked closer, “I don’t think they’re part of the training exercise.”

  “But … they can’t be here otherwise,” Jet stammered. “It’s not procedure.”

  Iridium started backing up, forming a strobe in her hands. Find an exit, make a hole, and get the hell away. It wasn’t Academy training, but it was good common sense.

  “Listen to the little freak. You think we let things like you tell us where we can and can’t go, freak?”

  “I don’t understand,” Jet started. “Who …?”

  “Everyman,” said Iridium, the sunburst insignia finally clicking into place.

  “Look at that,” said the older one. “The tall freak’s got a brain.”

  The younger drew out a Talon cutter. “You’re not welcome around here, little girls.”

  Jet was frozen in place, chest fluttering rapidly, her hands shaking. Iridium cursed under her breath but stood her ground. As long as Jet wasn’t moving, she couldn’t either. Partners never strayed.

  “You think you’re scaring me?” she spat at the Everyman with the cutter. “I’ve seen more frightening things in my lunch tray.”

  “Shut your mouth, you little bitch,” he hissed. “A time’s coming when all of you are going to see how weak you really are. But I’m gonna teach you a lesson right now.” He slashed the cutter close enough to Iridium’s face that she could feel the heat from the vibrating edge. “Maybe you’d like that big mouth even wider?”

  Iridium released the strobe like a baseball, straight at the man’s face. It exploded on contact. He screamed, dropping the Talon. Iridium kicked him in the crotch.

  “Jet,” she snarled. “Help me.”

  “Training,” Jet panted. “Just supposed to be training …” She started to gather a Shadow cloak around her, but not quickly enough. The older Everyman grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her into the air in front of him, like a human shield.